Amoral (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Amoral | |
|---|---|
 Playing at Tuska 2009 festival
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Helsinki, Finland |
| Genre(s) | Technical death metal (early), Technical melodic metal with rock elements (later) |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Label(s) | Spinefarm Records |
| Website | amoralweb.com |
| Members | |
| Ben Varon Ari Koivunen Silver Ots Juhana Karlsson Pekka Jonansson |
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| Former members | |
| Erkki Silvennoinen Matti Pitkänen Ville Sorvali Niko Kalliojärvi |
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Amoral is a metal band from Helsinki, Finland. Their music combines elements from heavy metal, melodic death metal and thrash metal mixturing those styles with rocking elements. Amoral has released four albums and performed extensively in bars, clubs, festivals and other venues in Finland, Europe, and Japan.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early times
Amoral was formed in 2000 by Varon, Karlsson, and Ots; their first vocalist was Matti Pitkänen, who was quickly replaced by Niko Kalliojärvi. Former band members also include Ville Sorvali from Moonsorrow on bass. For some time before Sorvali joined Amoral, the band was without bass player, and Ots played bass on some of their demos. Amoral released two demos, Desolation and Other Flesh, with varying line-ups, and played some minor gigs before releasing their first full-length album.
[edit] Wound Creations
Amoral signed with Rage of Achilles Records and released their first album, Wound Creations, in 2004. After the bankruptcy of Rage of Achilles Amoral was picked up by Spikefarm, a division of Spinefarm Records, a major Finnish rock and heavy metal record label with whom they re-released Wound Creations and added a bonus track ("Metamorphosis" from an early demo) to mark the new release version. The album has received predominantly positive reviews from metal magazines and webzines around Finland and Europe, and Amoral played numerous gigs following the release and thenceforth[citation needed] Their rise from the underground metal scene was further marked by a month-long European tour with renowned metal bands Finntroll and Naglfar, and their inclusion in Tuska Open Air Metal Festival 2005, Finland's most important heavy metal festival.
[edit] Decrowning
Soon after the 2005 European tour, Amoral returned to the studio to record their second album, Decrowning. The album was released in Finland and several other countries in October 2005 and in Japan and the United States in March 2006. A music video has been shot for the song "Lacrimal Gland." The band embarked on a second European tour in the spring of 2006. The 37-date tour was headlined by Dark Funeral and Naglfar, and supported by Amoral, Endstille, and Asmodeus. Amoral has since played a showcase gig in Japan and a mini-tour in Italy.
[edit] Reptile Ride
Amoral's third album was first announced on their website in early July 2006. The album was recorded in Studio Sound Supreme in Hämeenlinna in early 2007, and it was released in August 2007. A video has already been shot for the opening track of the album, "Leave Your Dead Behind."
[edit] Show Your Colors
Amoral's fourth studio album was announced in November of 2008 when the band announced Ari Koivunen as their new front man. On January 21st, their first single was put up the band's MySpace account. The first single is entitled Year of the Suckerpunch and the song is clearly distinctive from any of Amoral's previous material, and is built around Ari's higher pitched, clean, melodic voice, as opposed to former vocalist Niko Kalliojärvi's growling death metal vocals. The actual music and guitar work is reminiscent of the previous three Amoral albums, but it is clear the band is moving in a new direction. The album, Show Your Colors, was released May 6th, 2009.
[edit] Members
[edit] Current members
- Ari Koivunen - vocals
- Ben Varon - guitar
- Silver Ots - guitar, bass
- Juhana Karlsson - drums
- Pekka Jonansson - bass
[edit] Former members
- Niko Kalliojärvi - vocals
- Erkki Silvennoinen - bass
- Matti Pitkänen - vocals
- Ville Sorvali - bass
[edit] Discography
- Desolation (Demo, 2001)
- Other Flesh (Demo, 2002)
- Wound Creations (CD, Spikefarm Records, 2004)
- Decrowning (CD, Spikefarm Records, 2005)
- Reptile Ride (CD, Spikefarm Records, 2007)
- Show Your Colors (CD, Spikefarm Records, 2009)
